The 6-foot-8 small forward is due $16.5-million this season with $37-million more over the next two years. Gay, the Grizzlies' leading scorer and a player who Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo was believed to have been hotly pursuing for some time, had been the subject of trade speculation throughout the season as Memphis looks to unload his hefty max contract. He isn't scheduled to arrive in Toronto until late afternoon Friday and still needs to pass a physical. Gay won't play in Friday night's home game against the Los Angeles Clippers. It will be a few days before the two share a court, however. Lowry spoke to Gay soon after the deal, which also brings Hamed Haddadi to Toronto, telling the 26-year-old power forward that he was coming to a "first-class organization." when he's here, it's going to be an easy transition for him and for our team I believe." The two are good friends - Gay is godfather to Lowry's son - and as Lowry pointed out "I've already passed the ball to Rudy before, so. There will be an immediate level of comfort between Lowry and Gay. "Now it is my team, so the burden of it being my team is definitely something I always wanted and have no problem with this being my team," Lowry said. The deal that sent fan favourite Calderon ultimately to Detroit propelled Lowry back into the starting point guard position - the spot that was supposed to be his when the Raptors acquired him last off-season but which he lost to Calderon through injury and the Spaniard's strong play. "It's very exciting for me personally, and for the team and the organization because you get pretty much a superstar type player, a guy who could possibly be an all-star for the next five or six years in a row," Lowry said of Gay. While Lowry said it was tough to lose Jose Calderon and Ed Davis in Wednesday's deal to acquire Rudy Gay, he was talking up his new teammate to reporters on Thursday, saying the team was getting a "superstar." He still wants to confer with teammate Marc Gasol in hopes of playing wherever the Spaniard lands.Kyle Lowry will happily call the Toronto Raptors his team, and is excited about sharing it with one of his best friends.
‘But I’ve reached out to people in anticipation of (missing a season).’ Meanwhile, Randolph echoed a sentiment he expressed two months ago. But Gay, who recently recovered from a left shoulder injury, declined offers because he wasn’t healthy enough to play.’It has to make sense,’ Saratsis said. Saratsis said Gay had at least three offers to play in Europe during the early stages of the lockout. He missed out on a lot of time and he wants to be prepared whenever the NBA season starts. Will Rudy consider going overseas? Absolutely. It’s just a question of what they’re going to find. Rudy and everybody in the league have to explore those options. But if you’re savvy enough you’ll find something. ‘A lot of people are going to find out that a lot of money isn’t there. I want to play, but I stick by what they’re doing.’ … ‘With what’s going on now you have to explore your options,’ said Alex Saratsis, Gay’s agent. I feel bad for the fans and players like myself who love to play. ‘If there’s no season, I’m definitely going to explore going over the water,’ Randolph said.
Playing overseas is on the minds of Gay and Randolph as the league’s labor dispute heads into overtime. In the wake of the players rejecting the owners’ latest proposal and a probability that the 2011-12 season will be canceled, Memphis’ franchise players are now seriously considering other options. The Grizzlies’ trio might not be seen together in action again for some time. Zach Randolph sat at home in solidarity and disbelief. Per the Commercial Appeal: “Rudy Gay stood directly behind Mike Conley in New York as the National Basketball Players Association announced Monday it would disband and file an anti-trust suit against the NBA. With the 2011-’12 NBA season looking more and more like it might be lost, the Memphis Grizzlies’ two biggest stars have little choice but to seriously consider the overseas option.